From the Economic Policy Institute (http://www.epi.org/):
U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy remains intent on shrinking the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) by outsourcing work and cutting services, and his gross mismanagement has seriously undermined the agency.
In EPI’s blog post of the week at https://www.epi.org/blog/the-post-office-at-a-crossroads/, it breaks down how the USPS can expand into postal banking services to provide customers a heightened level of service—especially in underserved areas—and bring in critical revenue for this neglected but beloved institution.
One of the most frequently considered expansions of the USPS is a revival of postal banking, which the Postal Service discontinued in 1967. Far too many in our country face barriers, such as bank branch deserts and minimum balance requirements, when simply seeking access to their own funds.
Because USPS is required to provide a similar level of service to communities across the country regardless of local economic conditions, it maintains post offices even in low-income urban neighborhoods and small towns that lack other basic services. Once the fixed costs of post offices are covered, the additional costs of new services are often minimal. So, for a relatively minor investment, the post office could benefit from a new revenue stream and provide an enhanced level of service to the public. Sadly, it is politics and special interests—not economic considerations—that are standing in the way.
Our current legal and regulatory framework is one that protects USPS’s private-sector rivals at the expense of consumers. Congress needs to undo provisions of a 2006 act that severely limit the menu of services offered by the Postal Service. And the Postal Regulatory Commission needs to stop prioritizing shielding USPS competitors from “unfair” competition over the public good.
As friend-of-EPI Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said at a conference hosted by The Pew Charitable Trusts, “This is just an opportunity for the Post Office to use its space and to use its employees more efficiently to bring needed services to more Americans.”
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